Good News Thursday - 4 June
June 8, 2009 Good News Thursday No CommentsAfter a bit of a hiatus as there was no good news stories coming into me, we’re back. We’re going every two weeks now until such time as we have too much good news to share and we’ll recommence every week.
Keep those stories coming!
1. Recruitment is still alive & well…..as Ireland announces over 2,000 jobs per month
An analysis carried out by the website, Econ-Optimist, to determine the level of employment created in the economy shows that over 17,000 new jobs have been announced in Ireland running from October 2008 to the end of May 2009.
April 2009 has been the busiest month this year for job creation with over 5,300 jobs announced. This burst of employment was supported by ESB’s announcement of 3,700 to be created over the next 3 years. The month of May followed rank in job activity with over 3,600 job opportunities created. In May, Aldi announced that 1,000 jobs will be created over the next 5 years. Figures for February and March followed respectively. More announcements are continually made on a weekly basis.
2. New Theatre Company Sees Crowds Attend Opening Show
Earlier in May, I was delighted to hear about a new theatre company opening in Cork. The Roundhouse Theatre Company opened Lipstick to the public two days ago and got a large attendance. Attendance is due to remain steady for the other nights. They open Spitting Love on June 9th.
Both plays are at the Granary in Cork - so pop along to see some great theatre in action.
Lipstick explores the absurd world of Jane and Archibald, a newly wed couple, who despite both traditional and modern pressure find a way to express their love. It comically describes the situations young lovers can find themselves in when the communication cord gets tangled with an interfering mother-in-law!
Spitting Love is a dark comedy about the trauma of losing a child. The play shifts through the inner world of Harry, as he tries to make sense of his loss. It portrays the transformation that takes place between the inner thoughts of Harry and the perception of the outer world.
3. Innovative Ideas to Beat the Recession…
This section shows the the entrepreneurship of Irish businesses. I love this section and hope it will continue to grow.
MediaContact - In Praise of Positivity
MediaContact launched a ‘green shoots’ campaign and it’s aim is very simple. If you’d like to grow a green shoot of recovery for the economy, do one positive economic gesture per day. So it might be paying somebody on time, sanctioning some much-needed spending you’ve been stalling on or bringing your staff out for a ‘well done’ lunch.
Jack and the team believe that if we all did one “green shoot” act a day, the economy would begin to recover. Imagine the goodwill you’d feel by getting paid on time, or getting that order you’ve been chasing for months.
If you want to join in, email your ‘green shoot’ gestures to info@mediacontact.ie and they’ll publish them in the next edition.
I’ll be keeping an eye on it myself for Good News Thursday!
4. Berry Good News for Strawberries
As this week is National Strawberry Week (1st-7th June), it’s berry good news for strawberries. The value of strawberry sales in Ireland reached €50million in 2008, an increase of 6% since 2007.
According to Gary McCarthy, Irish Soft Fruit Growers Association, “2008 was a great year for strawberry sales and we are hoping that 2009 will be even better. The signs are for a big crop of juicy sweet strawberries.”
Yum, yum - anyone for strawberries and cream - with a little smattering of chocolate flakes on the top?
5. OpenCoffee Club in Drogheda a Success
Over 15 people attended the first OpenCoffee Club in Drogheda on the last Friday in May. Business owners who work in photography, marketing, online retail, web design, web development, offline retail and technology consulting attended and engaged with all there.
A super thanks to Made in Hollywood who made foam cups (see separate blog post with pics) so it was easy to identify us at the right spot in the d hotel.
For all Drogheda/Fingal/North Dublin/East Meath business owners, we will hold the next one on last Friday of the month in the d Hotel, Drogheda. Free parking for all.
6. Achievements/Twitter News
This week I’m afraid I’ve nothing to report here. I’ve just been busy and haven’t engaged with my twitter friends. Shame on me but I’ll be better for next week!
***Ends until next time***